Wabeen b



(No Model.)

W. B. HOWB.

2 Sheets-Sheet 1.A

ART 0F PARAFFINING PAPER.

No. 343,375. Patented June 8, 1886.

N. PETERS. Phnwumugnpher. whingwn. n.c.

(No Model.) 2 sheets-sheer. 2.

W. B. HOWB.

v ART OP PARAPPINING PAPER. No. 343,375. Patented June 8,1886.

/lllllllll/llll/llllllll/[Ill]/lll0[7]/[Hl/lll/lll/ll/llll/llllll/l/l/ll/ll/l/M UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

WARREN B. HOWE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF IWVO THIRDS TO ISABEL GAVIN AND MARK D. KNOWLTON, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

ART OF PARAFFINING PAPER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 343,375, dated Juice 8, 1886.

Application filed February 26, 1886. Serial No. 193,363. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WARREN B. HoWE, of

Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in t-he Art of Parafning Paper; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to the letters of reference mark ed thereon, which form a part of this specilica` tion.

'Ihe object of this invention is to provide an improvement in the art of manufacturing para'flined or waxed paper, whereby the quantity of paraiine applied to the paper in making it may be limited to the amount required to make the paper suitably waterproof, with the result of rendering unnecessary the removal of a superliuous amount of paratine originally applied to the paper, as has been necessary, as a separate step, in the process of manufacture heretofore employed.

This invention embraces both an improved method and an apparatus for parafiining paper; and it consists in the matters hereinafter described, and pointed out in the appended claims.

The method forming part of my invention consists, essentially, in applying parafne in a melted state to a body or mass of paper consisting of multifold thicknesses orlayers held closely in contact with each other, whereby the parafine is distributed in the inner layers by absorption through the outer layer or layers of the mass, and the quantity of paraffiue taken up and held by each layer is limited to the amount which will naturally be retained within the body'of'the layer, so that when the layers are separated no superfluous paraflne requiring removal will be present upon the surface of the separated layer. v

One way Ofearrying out the process above stated, which I have successfully practiced, consists in rolling a web or band of paper into a compact roll, inserting said roll into melted parafne until the latter has permeated throughout the entire body of the roll, and

1; then unwinding the paper from the roll in the presence of heat in such manner as to expose the paper in a single thickness to a temperature above the melting-point of the paraffine. The single thickness is desirably eX- posed to heat in this manner for the reason that under some circumstances the parafline contained in the mass of paper will cause the layers to stick together, so that when separated the surfaces which were in contact will present a mottled, opaque, or whitish appearance, which will remain ifthe separated layer is allowed to immediately become chilled in unrolling the paper, Vor if the paper is unrolled after becoming cold. By heating the single layer after it isseparated from the roll, however, any surface parafline is caused to flow or diffuse itself evenly upon the paper, and a smooth, even, and translucent appearance is thereby given to the product. In this connection it may be stated that the absorption into the mass of paper of a quantity of parafline sufficient to cause the layers to adhere to each other when the parafline is cold will not result in supplying the paper with such an amount of the material as to form a surplus coating requiring removal, it being found that under the circumstances mentioned the separated layer drawn from the roll will not contain a heavier body of parafline than is commonly present in merchantable paper. It is to be understood, however, that the necessity for the unrolling of the parafiined mass of paper' in the presence of heat, or of applying heat to the single layer after it is unrolled, depends upon the quality or thickness ofthe paper used, the tightness with which it is rolled, and the extent to which it is allowed to absorb para'lne when in its rolled or compact condition. It is entirely practicable, for instance, to so limit the quantity of parafline originally taken into' the roll or compact mass as to enable the layers to be separated after the roll has become cold and without the presence of heat, and to render any after-heating of the single thickness superfluous. I have found, for instance, that by inserting a compact mass or roll of paper for a period sufficiently long to allow it to absorb the melted paraftlne in its outer part or portions only, and by subjecting the roll thus treated to heat for a considerable' period after it is removed from the parafline, the paraftlne thus absorbed will be distributed throughout the entire mass of paper in such quantities that the layers will have no tend- IOO ency to stick together, and may be separated, or the roll nnwound, Without the `presence of heat, and the product will form a good merchantable article without further treatment. I have found it practicable, also, especially in the use of paper sufficiently thick or strong not to be readily torn, to unrollor'nnwind the paper from aparafine-saturated roll when the l latter has cooled to a greater or less extent,

even when a snicient quantity of paraffinehas been absorbed to cause the layers to stick together. In this case the paper may be heated after it has been unrolled, to canse the diffu. sion ofthe parafiine thereon, as above set forth or it may be used withoutthe application of heat.

so doing the layers may be readily-separated,- while at the same time-the-paper is `-givema smooth and even appearance.-

lhe quantity of paraliine absorbed by or into the compact mass or-roll may be -limitedin sev-- eral ways-as, for instance,-the mass-of paper or roll may, instead of beingallowed'to-remain in` a paraliine bath or-heated chamber sufficiently long to become heated th ronghout-,and thereby placed in a condition to readily absorb the paraine, be kept ata comparatively low temperatnreinserted for a short time inthe bath, and' then heated to canse-the absorption into its in terior ofthe limited amountof paraine ab sorbed duri ng its immersion in the bath,-itbeing a well-known fact that the-heating ofpaper in- A methodof treating separating frames or mats, in which the absorption of` paraffine is'- limited in the manner last-stated,-is set forth in a prior application for PatentNo. 173,306, tiled August 3, 1885, by the present applicant, said application embracing a method consti-- tuting one way of `carryingont the invention herein broadly claimed. The quantity of paraffine absorbed by the mass of paper may be otherwise limited by keeping the parafnef bath at a lower temperature, or by-compressing the mass or roll more closely, soas to make the latter less porous.

Still another obvious and practicable Way of limiting the quantity of `paraiiine taken up by the mass or roll is to apply the paralllne` to the said mass or roll ina limited quantityas, for instance, by placing or revolving-a mass or roll in a tank containing-a certain-Weight or bulk of-parafne in proportion to the weightor bulk of the roll. The-process above-mentioned, furthermore, may be carried out by folding or compacting the paper into amassV otherwise than by rolling it-as, for instance, paper in continuous-lengths may be folded back and forth upon itself', so as to form a It is preferred, however, to unroll thev paper in the presence of heat, inasmuch as-byjrectangular mass, and the layers thus placed may be held in contact with each other by suitable clamping or pressure devices, so that when the mass is subjected to the melted paraiine the quantity of paraftine taken up by the paper will be limited in the same way as 4whemt-he latter is rolled.

My invention may lie-more` readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, 4in which are illustrated several diiierent means of carrying out the process above set forth, together with the apparatus forming the subject of claims herein.

' In said drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view rof larlong sheet or strip of paper in the form of'a compact roll adapted for the application of melted-paraiue in the manner proposedfby me. Figz2 is a sectional view illustrati-ng-.a tank containing melted parafinc Witha-roll similar to that shown in Fig. l immersed therein. Fig. 3 isa sectional view illustratiugthe application-of heat to the paperas it` ismnwonnd from the roll for the purposeiof--giving a finished appearance thereto. Fig. 4 is-a perspective view of a compact mass of paper` consisting of a series of layers placed in contact with each other, the mass being formedby-folding -a long or` continuons strip back-andi `forth-and the layers-being held in contact-with each other by being clamped between opposing--perforated plates. Fig. 5 is a viewA illustrating-a similar folded mass with its clamp-plates immersedin a bath of melted lparafline.` Fig. Gis a view showing in section a heatedchambelg within which a folded mass of-paper (shown -in Figs-4 and 5) may be placed-in drawing off'or separating the layers. Fig. 7 is a sectional-view illustrating aheated chamber adaptedffor the convenient treatmeut ofpaper in the-roll, said chamber being provi-ded with-atank-for paraiiineand with a vertically-movable support for the rod, whereby the latter may be allowed to enter the paraiiine at desired times. Fig. 8 is a sectional viewr-ofi-a tank -for melted paraiiine, and supporting rollers adapted to-sustain a roll of paper `over said tank, and-adapted for applying paraliine to the surface of the latter. Fig. 9 isa sectionaliview of-an apparatus for applyingparaiiine incase several strips of paper are-rolled together.y Fig. I0 is a similar View illnstratingthe application of parafiine to several-thicknesses `of` paper carried over a roll in contact with eachother. Fig.- 11 is a detail-sectional-view of an-apparatus for treating-,paperwhen-inthe formof a roll, illustrating devices for dipping vthe roll in the paraline automatically at desired intervals. Fig. l2 is a sectional View of the device shown inFig.-ll, taken upon-line :l: w of said figure.

In-the-said drawings-A, Fig. l, indicates a roll'of-paper suchas will be used in carrying out i-nyinventionin the Way Which I now consider the best one for practical use, this obviously being thc-most simple and convenient way offorming a compact mass of paper in IOS IIO

which the layers are held with equal pressure closely in contact with each other. In Fig. 2 the roll A is shown as immersed in melted parafline within atank, B, which is shown as provided at its bottom with the usual cored passages, b i), for the passage of steam to heat the tank. In Fig. 3 the paper is shown as being drawn from the roll over a series of heating-pipes, C, employed to retain the air in the immediate vacuity of the paper at a temperature higher than the melting-point of the pai'- afline, whereby the latter is caused to low evenly over the paper, and thereby give a smooth and even appearance to the latter. In case the paper is unwound from the roll before the latter has become cool after its removal from the heated paraffine, the same effect may be produced if the unwinding takes place iu the presence of heat or in a room sufficiently warm to prevent the chilling or congealment of the paraffine upon the outer surface of the roll, the parafiine obviously in such case being allowed'to distribute itself in the single thickness of paper after the latter has been separated fromthe body of the roll and before it has become cooled or hardened. As a more simple way of performing the operation of unrolling the paper, whereby the roll is kept warm and the paper drawn there from is at the same time subjected to heat, I prefer to inclose the roll during unwinding in a closed chamber, which is suitably heated, and in which the separated layer of paper is exposed to heat for a sufficient time to accomplish the complete diffusion of the parattine thereon, as above set forth.

vconnection with the roll shown in Figs. l, 2,

and 3. In said figures, D indicates the mass of folded papenwhich is held between clampplates E Ef preferably perforated to permit the access of the paraffine to the parts of the paper over which the plates are placed, said plates, as shown, being held together by bolts @,provided with nuts e. In Fig. 5 the paper held between the plates E E is shown as immersed in paraffine contained in a tank, B, and Fig. 6 illustrates the operation of separating the folded layers of paper-in thisv case performed in a closed chamber, F, heated by a steam-coil, F, and provided with an open- -.ing, f, in the top wall of the chamber, through which the paper passes to a suitable' roll or reel, upon which itis wound, or elsewhere.

Fig. 7 illustrates an apparatus for carrying out the process forming my invention, in which the roll, instead of being completely immersed and allowed to become permeated throughout at one operation, is partially immersed while the paper is being drawn therefrom. In this operation the paraftine strikes or permeates into the roll in advance of the unwinding of the paper, and the paraffine coming in contact with the roll will pass through 4the extreme layer thereof, and will become distributed ini the adjacent layers of the roll before said outer layer is separated from the rollin unwinding.

.wound upon a roll, H, located outside of said chamber. In the use of an apparatus thus constructed the lower part of the roll may revolve constantly in the melted parafne, or it may be immersed intermittingly, according to the kind of paper being operated upon, the closeness with which it is wound, the quantity of parafiine it is desired to introduce into the paper, and other circumstances. With the kinds of paper commonly used, however, it is found that a desired supply of paraftne will be given by bringing the lower part of the roll into the parafiine during one revolution of the roll at considerable intervals of time, the paraftine taken up by one such dipping serving to sufiiciently permeate a number of the outer thicknesses or layers of paper. Any suitable form of movable support for the rollers may be used, that shown in said ligure consisting ofconnected pivoted bars G2, extending through the walls of the chamber and provided with a pawl, y', engaging a ra tchet-plate, g2, whereby the roll may be held in a suitable position whenimmersed, and raised and lowered as desired. It will of course be understood that the paper, afterits exit from the heated chamber, will be allowed to pass through the cooler outer air for a sufficient time, to allow the chilling or hardening of the parafne therein. For this purpose the guideroll h will usually be located much farther from the chamber than shown in the drawings, the paper web being therein shown as broken away, to indicate that its part between the said guide-roll lzy and the chamber is considerable.

Another apparatus is shown in Fig. 9,which is generally similar to that shown in Fig. 8, means for moving the roll vertically in this case, however, being omitted from the drawings. In this case the paper roll A consists of four separate strips or strands, a a, of paper wound together upon the roll, said strips being separated within the heated chamber G by means of guide-rollers h', located outside of said chamber, the strands being arranged to pass 4over said guiderollers to a number of rolls or to a single roll, such asis indicated by H', in said Fig. 9. It is of course understood that the roller A may in this ease be made vertically movable in the same manner as before described.

Fig. l() illustrates an apparatus in which the parafiine is applied to several layers or strips of paper passing together in a solid body or mass partially around a revolving cylinder or drum, whereby parafiine applied to the said body of paper will come in contact with the outer layer and edges of said mass only, and the inner layers thereof will obtain a supply of paraffine by absorption through the outer layer in the same manner as when a single layer or several layers are formed in a roll. As shown in said figure, the chamber G. the paraiiine-tank B, and the heatingcoil G are constructed as hereinbcfore described; but over said tank, in place of the roller A, is located a revolving drum, I, arranged to dip in its lower part into the parafiine within the tank, and provided with asmooth cylindric exterior surface, over which the layers of paper to be parailined pass. The said layers, indicated by a?, pass from a series of rollers, A', over guide-rollers h2, through suitable apertures in the sides of the chamber, and are brought together overa single guide-roller, H2, from which they pass to the drum I, a second guide-roller, H, preferably being provided within the tank near said drum, over which the several layers are trained, and from which they pass through the sides of the chamber to a series of guiderollers, 7L, after which they may be wound upon separate rollers or a single roll, such as is shown in Fig. 9. The several layers in this construction are desirably separated before passing out of the chamber, in order that they may be separately subjected to heat, for the purpose hereinbefore specified. It will of course be understood that in an apparatus embodying the general features shown in Fig. 10 the guide-roller H may be omitted, and the several layers carried directly from said drum to the roll or rolls upon which the finished product is wound, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 10, the construction herein shown being used merelyasa matter of convenience, in order to enable the layers to be carried laterally out of the chamber.

The number of layers which can be successfully operated upon at one time by the apparatus shown in Fig. l0 will depend upon the thickness and other qualities of the paper, the speed with which the layers are drawn through the paratiine 4bath, and the temperature of the chamber and of the melted paraiiine. In the use of a considerable number of layers, for i11- stance, theparaffine will be kept at a relatively high temperature and the paper moved slowly, in order to facilitate the absorption of the parafiine into the mass, and to give time for its diffusion throughout all of the layers before they are separated. In operating upon a few layers at a time, on the contrary', the paper may be moved more rapidly, and the parafine may be kept ata lower temperature, inasmuch as the parafiine will strike quickly through all of the layers as soon as the latter enter the bath. It is to be noted in this connection that the quantity of parafiine applied to the paper, or, in other words, the amount of paraiiine absorbed by each layer, may be controlled to a considerable extent by varying the number of layers operated upon at once. This may be more readily understood by a consideration of the fact that the thin coating of iiuid parafline adhering Aby capillarity to the exterior surface of the outer layer of the several layers passing around the drnm,will become absorbed by the other layers; or, in other words, will become distributed equally among said other layers as soon as the several layers pass above or out of the melted material. From this fact it is apparent that in case a considerable number of thin layers are carried together around the drum the adhering fluid ciating absorbed by or distributed in the several layers will add to each a quantity of paraffine so inconsiderable as to be imperceptible. In ease a small number of layers are present, however-as, for instance, only four the said adhering coating upon the outer layer will be distributed among the three other layers, so that onefourth of the said coating will be finally present in each layer. It is to be understood, however, that this additional amount of parafne absorbed by the several sheets will not give to thelatter an amount of parailine greater than will make a useful product. In case, however, the quantity of material taken up by the paper when operating upon only a few sheets at once, under certain conditions as to heat and speed of movement, is found to be too great,the quantity applied may be readily lessened by moving the paper more rapidly, by decreasing the temperature of the parafiine or of the chamber within which the operatinn takes place, or by straining the paper more tightly over the drum, so as to decrease the porosity of the mass or body of the paper.

Figs. 11 and 12 of the drawings illustrate a device whereby a roll of paper arranged for carrying out the process in the manner described in connection with Figs. 7 and 9 may be raised and lowered automatically to cause it to dip at required intervals into the paraillne bath, the particular device shown ob vionsly being only one of many which may be applied for the purpose. As illustrated in the said figures, the ends of the mandrels a, upon which the roll A is wound, are provided with bearings in vertically-movable bars J, having sliding bearings upon the walls of the chamber G, or other suitable supports, and provided with proj ections f}`,resting upon cams K', attached to a shaft, K, in such manner that the said bars and the rolls supported thereby are sustained by the said cams. The said cams are so shaped as to allow the roller to rise and fall during the rotation of the shaft, and the latter is driven at a considerable speed to cause a downward movement of the roll at desired intervals. In the particular construction illus trated, the shaft is provided with a series of belt-pulleys, K2, whereby it may be driven from a series of pulleys, K, upon a countershaft, K, the pulleys upon the counter-shaft being made considerably smaller than those upon the shaft K, whereby the latter is given a relatively slow speed of rotation.

To provide for adjusting the position of the paper-roller relatively to the surface of the paraine in the tank B, so as to enable the roll to be immersed to a desired extent, notwithstanding differences in the sizeof the roll and in the quantity of paraffine in the tank, the projeetionsjare preferably made to slidev vices-as, for instance, by means of rollers which revolve in a parafiine bath and rest in contact with 'the said roll during the rotation of the latter. A convenient construction in a device of the kind last mentioned, for applying parafine to the exterior of a roll, is shown in Fig. 8, in which a paper roll, A, is shown y as resting upon and as sustained by two rollers,

L, which are provided with suitable bearings at their ends and which dip at their lower parts into paraliine contained in the tank B. (Shown in said gure.) In carrying out my improved process by the use of the device last described, it is entirely obvious that the paraiiine carried and applied to the exterior of the paper roll by the supportingrollers L will be absorbed by the outer layers of the roll in such manner as to keep a number of the said outer layers saturated in advance of the unwinding of the paper, while at the same time the presence is avoided of an undesirable quantity of parafiine in or upon the paper un- Wound from the roll,by the absorption of any surplus parafiine upon the said outer layer into the mass of the roll before the outer layer is separated from said roll.

The same mechanical features illustrated in Fig. 8 may be employed for sustaining the roll in a desired position relatively to the parafline when the exterior part of the roll itself is allowed to dip into the parafline. The dotted lines in said Fig. 8 indicate the level of the parafne in the tank when the rollers L are used for supporting the roller in the manner last described.

Aside from the obvious advantages existing in the use of the process hereinbefore set forth, as a means of regulating the quantity of parafne applied to the paper, the product of said process is found to be superior in quality to that heretofore produced, for the reason that in carrying out said process the paper, after the paraffine has been applied thereto, need not be subjected to the action of any rubbing or scraping devices to remove the surplus parafne from its surface; but the melted parafiine may be, and desirably is, allowed to diffuse itself throughout the paper While hot, and the parafline then allowed to cool before the paper is brought into contact with any guide surface or roller, so that the paper does not appear streaked and uneven, as is liable to'be the case with paper made by processes claims.

It is entirely obvious that melted parafne may be applied to a mass or body of paper consisting of a number of separate sheets held closel yin contact with each other, with the same result of limiting the amount applied to each sheet aswhen the paper treated is in a long web or band. By reason of the inconvenience which the handling of a great number of sheets will involve, however, paper of ordinary thickness will usually be treated in the form of a long or practically continuous band or web, as above set forth 5 but in the use of thicker paper or straw-board it may be found more convenient to treat it in separate sheets, as set forth, for instance, in the prior application, Serial No. 173, 306, hereinbefore alluded to.

I claim as my inventionl. The improvement in the art of manufacturing paraffined paper which consists in applying para'liine in a melted state to a mass or body of paper consisting of multifold thicknesscs held in contact with each other, substantially as described.

2. The method of making parafiined paper which consists in applying paraftine in a melted state to a compact roll of paper, substantially as described. y

3. rlhe'method of making parafned paper which consists in applying melted paraffine to a mass or body of paper consisting of multifold thicknesses or layers held in contact with each other, and thereafter separating the layers and applying heat to the layers after they are separated,y substantially as described.

4. The method of making paraflined paper which consists in applying melted parafine to a compact roll of paper, and thereafter unwinding the roll in the presence of heat, substantially as described.

5. The method of making parafiined paper which consists in partiallyimmersing a compact roll of paper in a bath of melted paraffineand at the same time rotating the roll and drawing the paper therefrom, substantially as described.

6. The method of making parafiined paper which consists in partially immersing a compact roll of paper intermittingly in a bath of melted paraffine and at the same time rotating the roll and drawing the paper therefrom, substantially as described.

7. An apparatus for paraflining paper, coniprising a heated chamber, a paraftine-tank,

-and means sustaining a paper roll over the tank, substantially as described.

8. An apparatus for parafning paper, comprising a heated chamber, a paraffine-tank, and a vertically-movable support for sustaining a paper roll over the tank, substantially as described.4

9. An apparatusforparafning paper, com- In testimony that I claim the foregoing as prisng a heated chamber, a paralne-tank, a .my invention I affix my signature in presence vertically-movable support for sustaining a` of two witnesses.

paper roll over the tank, and means giving a W'ARREN B. HOWE. 5 reciprooatory movement to the said support, VVitnesses:

whereby the roll may be iutermttngly dipped C. CLARENCE PooLE,

into the parafne, substantially as described. M. E. DAYTON. 

